For our final Gaeilge lesson, we’ll put together a bunch of Irish words (most of which we haven’t heard before), into a poem. This is a traditional song with a long history, but I haven’t found a recording of the Jacobite version that appears in Chapter 25 of IrishFirebrands.

The dancers exited the improvised stage to approving applause. The musicians followed them, except for John Sweeney, who slid his ‘bones’ into a pocket and adjusted his microphone for singing. Then Medb announced, “Everybody get out their programmes and get ready to sing, Séarlas Óg.”

Lana looked at the paper. The song was printed in Gaeilge, with an English interpretation by Medb. “I can’t sing that! I’ll have to sing the translation.”

Frank said, “We just sing the chorus. It’s really only two lines.” He winked. “Good practice for your pronunciation.”

The version that was rewritten by Patrick Pearse in the early 1900s referred to Gráinne Mhaol (Grace O’Malley, queen of the Clew Bay pirates). It became a popular revolutionary song, and that’s the version you hear in these videos:

To hear the spoken verses of the Jacobite version, go to Séarlas Óg, on the Irish Vocabulary page sub-menu, above. I’ve also included music, so you can get in some singing practice – like Lana did!